CHERRIES boss Sean O'Driscoll admitted he had mixed feelings after seeing his side held to a 2-2 draw by Division Two rivals Swindon Town on Monday (Aug 25).

O'Driscoll said he was "disappointed" with the two goals his charges had conceded, but "pleased" with his players' effort, attitude and commitment.

Cherries twice came from behind to chalk up their second point of the season thanks to goals either side of half-time from Shaun Maher and James Hayter.

Maher was pressed into action earlier than had been anticipated after Jason Tindall and Warren Cummings had both failed late fitness tests.

But the Irishman marked his first start for 11 months by heading Cherries level in the 21st minute to cancel out Tommy Mooney's opener for the Robins.

And Hayter pounced to grab his second of the season midway through the second half after Steve Robinson had restored Swindon's lead 10 minutes before half-time.

O'Driscoll said: "I'm disappointed with the goals we conceded, but very pleased with the effort they put in. I'm also pleased with their attitude, their commitment and with the way they reacted after a difficult start.

"We had 16 fit players including Shaun Maher who is still coming back after injuring his ankle. I thought they were magnificent, especially after the disappointment of playing so well against QPR and not coming away with anything.

"We played a completely different way in the two games because we think that is the best way to play and we didn't really get what we deserved so I'm disppointed, but I don't think you can fault what they tried to do.

"All credit to the players because they didn't wobble when we went behind and they stuck to what we believed would get us a result and we were unfortunate not to come away with all three points."

Swindon manager Andy King admitted he was relieved to leave Dean Court with a share of the spoils.

King said: "It was a very difficult game. They are a decent side at home and I thought they battled very hard and were the better side. But with a bad performance, we've managed to draw 2-2.

"I can't say it was a good performance because we didn't pass the ball well, we defended too deeply and (Steve) Fletcher caused us a lot of problems. Thankfully he didn't cause us problems in the box, but he did outside the box.

"He got them 30 yards farther up the pitch than I wanted them and apart from a short period in both halves, we didn't play well but we got a 2-2 draw away from home.

"I was disappointed we couldn't hold on after taking the lead twice, but I didn't think we were playing well enough to get a third goal.

"On this occasion, I've got to be honest and say the opposition were better than us today. I'm not saying they are a better team, they were just better today," added King.